Although luggage with wheels has been known and available in various forms for a relatively long time, wheeled luggage has become immensely popular within the past few years. One form of wheeled luggage is a wheelaway backpack, a characteristic feature of which is the inclusion of a pair of shoulder straps that permit the user to carry the luggage item on his or her back. There are several aspects of the design of wheelaway backpacks that require attention. First, it is necessary to provide for storage of the shoulder straps so that they are not exposed to catching on other objects when the backpack is handled as checked luggage on a plane or train or otherwise handled and stowed with other articles for transport. Second, the wall of the backpack that rests on the user's back should be padded or otherwise treated to make it comfortable to the user's back. Third, the wheels should be covered when the backpack is carried on the user's back so that his or her clothing is protected from being soiled by dirty or wet wheels. In that regard, the wheels usually protrude from the lower back corners of the pack such that segments are located behind the plane of the rear wall of the pack. The foregoing requirements for wheelaway backpacks have been met in various ways in previously known designs.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,749,503 (Wulf et al., 1998) describes and shows a wheelaway backpack that includes wheels on each end of the lower back edge of a main compartment or container and a towing handle that telescopes into and out of tubes that extend along the back wall panel of the main container. A second compartment is provided behind the towing handle tubes for stowing the shoulder straps. The second compartment extends the full height of the backpack and has a front panel that overlies the towing handle tubes, thus sandwiching the towing handle tubes between the back panel of the main compartment and the front panel of the second compartment. The upper portion of the back panel of the second compartment is connected by a zipper to the front panel along the sides and the top. When the upper part of the back panel is unzipped from the front panel, it folds down so as to serve as a protective flap for the exposed parts of the wheels. A tab with one element of a hook and loop cloth ("VELCRO") extends from the free edge of the flap and is attached to a patch of the other hook/loop cloth element that is secured to the bottom of the backpack to hold the back flap in place.
The full-height second compartment provides padding so that the towing handle tubes, which are sandwiched between the main and second compartments, do not dig into the user's back. The space between the main and second compartments is "dead space," serving only to contain the towing handle tubes and isolate them from the main compartment and the second compartment. The second compartment serves only for stowage of the shoulder straps, although it is possible to place articles in the second compartment with the straps. Articles placed in the second compartment are not, however, readily accessible to the user, inasmuch as the second compartment extends the full height and the user has to fish for them at the bottom of the backpack. Use of the second compartment for packing articles is also impractical because the upper part is opened when the straps are deployed and because articles placed in the lower part of the second compartment are likely to make the backpack uncomfortable when it is carried on the user's back.